The 2023 Summer Solstice, the Astronomical beginning of summer and the longest day of the year, occurs this year at 10:57AM, EDT on Wednesday, June 21st. What is the Summer Solstice? Often referred to as the ‘First Day of Summer‘, a subjective term, the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the day the sun[…]
July 2022 Full Buck Supermoon low in the southeast following its rising at 21:00 UT (9:00 PM, EDT) on July 13. Note: the brilliant ruby Antares is near the meridian with the “Tea Pot” of Sagittarius to the east. Image via Stellarium. The full moon for this month occurs on Wednesday, July 13. According to[…]
Join Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy for Change as he showcases and describes a rare triple conjunction of Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn in the early morning hours before sunrise, a planetary alignment visible through Sunday, March 14. Those who are early risers will be witness to this rare planetary alignment. Especially rare and quite spectacular[…]
Update (22 July, 2020) As of today’s date, Comet 2020 F3 NeoWise rises with the sun and is thus, exclusively an evening object. The comet is well placed at twilight, south and west of Merak and Dubhe, the famous “pointer stars” of the “Big Dipper“, the Northern-Hemisphere asterism made famous as a great “dipper” in[…]
On this cold, clear night when the stellar jewels are alight above, take the time, if just for a moment, to gaze upwards, to make that visceral connection with that from whence we all came. Regardless of your religious persuasion, if any, we are all connected at the deepest level to those stars; that grand[…]
In this un-narrated video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change takes us on a quick tour of the sky tonight starting at sunset, taking a look at the New Moon with Venus and Mercury at sunset, then jumping to Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus (yes, Uranus). Following all that, we keep moving east to the[…]
In this video, Dr. James Daly takes us on a tour of the early Autumn Sky, discussing the October Full Moon otherwise known as The Hunter’s Moon. These colloquial names for the full moon describe certain activities where the brilliant moon, high in the sky, would extend visibility and assist in the activity associated with[…]
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change presents this year’s Full Harvest Moon, Friday, September 13, 2019 set against the late Sumer and early Autumn Sky. Dr. Daly discusses the origin, legend and lore behind the naming of each month’s full moon and why they are significant. With the full moon rising[…]
This is a short, narration free video featuring the beautiful (and peaceful) pre-dawn sky of today, August 27, 2019. Tomorrow’s sky is similar Please like, subscribe and share. Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of all articles in this blog can be found here.
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change discusses remaining viewing options for the Perseid Meteor Shower and the mid-to-late August Sky, highlighting those constellations and objects of interest that are receding from view with the close of the season. The constellations discussed include Bootes, The Herdsman, Canes Venatici, The Hunting Dogs, Hercules[…]
Dr. James Daly of Astronomy for Change discusses the Full Moon for August, the Full Sturgeon Moon, Full Moon naming conventions, two beautiful new objects for binoculars or telescope (M-11, M-24), the Perseid Meteor Shower and the coming Autumnal Equinox. Please like, subscribe and share. Imagination is more important than knowledge An index of all[…]
In this video, Dr. Jim Daly of Astronomy For Change discusses the early August Night Sky with some of the jewels of the Summer Sky, some of the prominent constellations, the Milky Way, the major planets visible (Jupiter & Saturn), the phases of the moon for August 10 – 13 along with the Perseid Meteor[…]
In this video, we take a quick look at the early August sky at twilight and move on, later into the night, taking a look at the major planets (Jupiter and Saturn, in Scorpio and Sagittarius, respectively), a quick look at the early Autumn constellations, rising much later into the night. We then take an[…]
The Sky Tonight for July 28, 2019 presented by Dr. James Daly of Astronomy for Change. In this edition of the series, we take a look at the early morning sky, the slim, waning crescent moon, and the morning planets Venus and Mercury. We take a brief look at the stars and constellations of autumn[…]
The Sky Tonight for July 16 through July 21, 2019 presented by Dr. James Daly of Astronomy For Change. Topics include the continued discussion of the various constellations of the day and the season, the major planets visible, the ecliptic, the moon, Apollo 11 along with a brief discussion of stellar evolution. Ambient background music:[…]
This Tuesday, July 2nd, observers in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay will be witness to one of nature’s most awesome spectacles, a Total Eclipse of the Sun. A total eclipse of the sun occurs when the moon, at “New” Phase, perfectly covers the disk of the sun. Since the moon is 400x smaller than the sun,[…]
As the last vestiges of the winter sky are low in the west at twilight, we look forward to the late spring and early summer sky. With Lyra the celestial harp ascending the northeastern sky towards midnight along with Cygnus and the rich summer Milky Way following close behind, we’re certain that spring is here[…]
It is rare that so many solar system objects are all located so closely in a singular view. This week, moving along the ecliptic towards full moon on the 26th, the the August moon, Sturgeon Moon, the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon the moon will be favorably positioned near 3 of the solar[…]
The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century will take place this Friday, July 27. This eclipse is also significant as it takes place during a “Blue” moon, or a full moon that occurs more than once during a calendar month. A lunar eclipse occurs only during the full moon phase as the moon[…]
As the last vestiges of the winter sky are low in the west at twilight, we look forward to the late spring and early summer sky. With Lyra the celestial harp ascending the northeastern sky towards midnight along with Cygnus and the rich summer Milky Way following close behind, we’re certain that spring is here[…]
Tonight, January 23, 2018, the planet Uranus is uniquely placed in the constellation Pisces within 6 degrees almost due north of the waxing crescent moon. Although the planet’s brightness or magnitude is at the threshold for naked-eye observation, a modest pair of binoculars is necessary to reveal the planet as a greenish-blue “star” and a[…]
Two notable events occur this month, the Harvest (Full) Moon tomorrow, Friday, 16 September and the Autumnal Equinox on Thursday, 22 September. In fact, they’re both linked. The full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox is known as the “Harvest Moon”, a designation indicting that the light of the full moon gave aid to the[…]
Fifty years ago today, NASA published the first-ever image of the Earth from the moon. Imaged by the intrepid Lunar Orbiter 1, the black and white image above was beamed back from a distance of 380,000 Km (236,000 mi). Lunar Orbiter 1 was the first of five Lunar Orbiters sent to the moon in preparation[…]
At 9:32 AM, EDT on this date forty seven years ago, humanity finally came of age, venturing off our home world, home to all life that we know of since the dawn of recorded history, for a thousand millennia. It has been said, and quite accurately, that for the 21 hours his two companions were[…]
Tonight at 22:57 UTC (6:57 EDT), the moon will be 180º from the sun as it is every month at astronomical Full Moon. July’s full moon is otherwise known as the “Full Buck Moon”, the “Thunder Moon” or the “Hay Moon” in North America. At this time of year, buck deer begin to grow antlers,[…]
As twilight deepens tonight and as you step outside facing south, it’s as though nature was trying to dress to impress, complete with her best jewels! Tonight’s waxing gibbous moon, less than 24 hours before full, is in Sagittarius, set against the far more distant galactic center. Although the sky’s brightness will continue to increase[…]
